All I Want For Christmas
by BTRhpgeek21
Summary: Jo Taylor needs a fiancé for Christmas after learning her perfect younger sister is bringing her new husband over for the holidays & her parents expect her to be similarly in love. The only problem is, Jo isn't in a relationship, nor has she got eyes for anyone. That is until her friend Kendall Knight offers to assist her, too bad Kendall doesn't realize what he'll be getting into.
1. Delay

_**So I am really bad at keeping ideas at bay and then not continuing them timely when I do release them, but I did get a bunch of chapters for this story done since this idea was cooked up little less than a year ago during Christmas time and it is essentially just that, a Christmas-y story. It's kinda longer than I intended so I am starting to release it now so I can get the whole thing out before Christmas so here you all are! High School Teachers AU along with some OOC. Very cute in my opinion and kinda sad. I hope you all enjoy! -xoxo Tak**_

* * *

"Yes. Yes. Ugh. Yes mother. No. No. Of course I'll be home for Christmas." Jo Taylor had been talking, well more like answering her mother for 3 hours now. She was going to be late for work if she didn't end the call now. "Mom I have to go to work now. I'll call you back at lunch."

"Okay Joey, but don't forget, we aren't done talking about this." Her mother said. She reluctantly said goodbye to her eldest daughter, allowing Jo to finally get out of her bed and go to work.

It was nearing 7:30 a.m. and Jo had to be at the school by 8. Jo Taylor was a teacher at one of the local high schools in Duluth, Minnesota. It wasn't her first choice city, but it was the only one in dire need of a young English teacher at the time, so she packed up from her home in North Carolina and moved up to Minnesota. She lived in a small one-bedroom apartment near the school. She was alone and new and had no friends. Sometimes she regretted ever moving up there, but the pay was good. Better than most schools.

As her time there grew, she had met a few people who she could now call friends. Most of her colleagues were very fond of the young blonde. The school's drama teacher, Camille Roberts, had become one of Jo's best friends, especially since Jo was the only teacher who cared for the dramatic arts. The school's AP Chemistry and science department chair, Professor Logan Mitchel, had also become her friend, mostly by default because of the secret romance between him and Camille.

And then there was Kendall Knight, the school's hockey coach and chorus teacher, who was her guide for her orientation. He had been the first one to welcome her and the only one to treat her as if she had lived there her whole life. He never made her feel like she didn't belong in the slightest. He was always kind to her and made sure to visit her during his breaks to see if she was good. She enjoyed his company during lunches and he'd always invite her to hang out over the weekend, though she would usually decline.

The best part about Kendall Knight was that he wasn't fawning over her like most of the male teachers. All of her other male colleagues would try to make a pass at her or ask her out, but Kendall was always just genuinely nice and courteous when he would ask her to go out on the weekends. But she knew that was mostly because of his girlfriend and music teacher, Lucy Stone. Nonetheless, he was a great person and a good friend.

Jo checked her clock again. It read 7:41. She sighed and quickly jumped in the shower. The school was delayed today by 2 hours because the power had gone out the night before from heavy snow on a power line, meaning she was allowed to get there 2 hours later than usual. She didn't mind, but her mother took it as an opportunity to call her earlier than usual.

Most the time her mother would just call on the weekend to check up on Jo, but since Christmas was in a week, her mother had to call everyday to ask if Jo was still coming down and if she was going to bring someone with her. As usual the answer was yes to coming down and no to bringing someone. Ever since her sister had eloped at 21, earlier than anyone had expected, Jo's parents expected her to be married by now as well. Or at least in a relationship.

The last time Jo was in a relationship, it ended terribly. Her boyfriend at the time, Jett Stetson, was a law student, but he was working on more than cases on his long nights at the library. It turned out he had been sleeping with university's hot, young librarian. Jo had felt like such an idiot, and vowed to never get in a relationship again for the next 10 years.

Of Course her parents thought she was being ridiculous since they still adored Jett despite his betrayal. Recently they would usually call to try to get her to forgive Jett and move past what he did. She didn't understand why, and she honestly didn't want to because she knew perfectly well she would never have to deal with that creep again.

Jo rushed out of the shower, getting into her peach blouse and black pencil skirt. She put on her stockings and boots. She quickly blow dried her hair and put it in a bun. She put on her coat and grabbed her purse, phone and keys. She rushed out of the apartment, careful not to slip on any of the ice on her way out of the building. She started her car and waited for it to heat up.

She checked the time again. It read 7:55. She was going to be late no matter what she did. She took her phone and called Camille to let her know what was going on. Camille failed to pick up. She sighed and tried Logan. No reply. She ended up calling Kendall who was able to pick up.

"Hey Kendall, it's Jo. I'm going to be late, so can you let Arthur know?" Jo asked him.

"Of course Ms. Taylor, but tardiness is unacceptable. You'll be getting detention for this." Kendall joked. He could almost feel her eyes rolling as she chuckled into the phone.

"Sorry Mr. Knight but my mom wouldn't let me go!" She told him.

"Again? Isn't this the fourth time she called this week?" Kendal asked.

"Yeah it is. She keeps asking the same thing about Christmas." Jo said.

"You should just tell her no one day just to mess with her." He suggested.

"That would probably make things worse for me than anyone else. Anyways let Arthur know I'm on my way, and save me some coffee in the lounge."

"Will do. See you soon."

Jo hung up and began to drive now that the car was warmed up. When she finally arrived, she was 11 minutes late. She quickly swapped her boots for a pair of her work heels. She briskly walked into the building and straight to the staff room. She saw the coffee pot with her name labeled on it and just enough coffee for one cup. She couldn't thank Kendall enough for this. After she made herself some coffee, she went to her classroom.

Her room wasn't huge but it wasn't too small either. She taught 3 classes a day of twenty to thirty students. She taught two English classes, one creative writing class, and one journalism class. She had been the only teacher qualified to teach more than one subject, other than Logan of course. She taught mostly tenth grade honors English, but she had a vide array of students due to her other classes.

"Morning Ms. Taylor." One of her students greeted. Only a few had arrived to school since school wasn't supposed to begin until 9.

"Morning." Jo greeted cheerfully. As more students piled in, she began to get papers and lesson plans out, getting prepared for the day.


	2. What Just Happened?

_**Got another chapter for you all so you'll know which way this story is heading! Enjoy! :) -xoxo Tak**_

* * *

The bell rang to mark the end of 2nd period and the beginning of Jo's free period, meaning she had a whole hour for lunch and planning. She could initially go home if she wanted for this time, but she usually stayed at school. Kendall also had a planning period at this time, so he'd usually bring his lunch to Jo's room and they'd eat together. Today wasn't any different.

"Hello Ms. Taylor!" Kendall greeted. He was dressed in a solid blue button down shirt, black jeans, and matching vans. His dirty blond hair was neatly pushed to the side. "I hope the coffee this morning was to your liking."

"Hey Kendall. And yeah it was, thanks again." She told him. She had been grading papers when Kendall walked in.

"Hey, why are you grading papers? Where's your lunch?" Kendall pondered.

"Well grading is part of the job sadly and I really don't want to have to do it over the weekend, so might as well do it now." Jo explained. "As for my lunch, I forgot to grab some this morning because of the whole being late thing."

"Well then you can have some of mine." Kendall offered her half of his turkey sandwich. She gratefully took it and they both ate. "Why is your mom even calling this much?" Kendall inquired.

"I have no clue. She keeps wanting me to say that I've spontaneously met someone and I'm bringing them with me for Christmas." Jo told him.

"And why is that?" Kendall asked.

"Because my stupid perfect, younger sister got eloped a few months ago and now they expect me to be married." Jo said angrily.

"That's so dumb. Why should you have to be married because of your younger sister?"

"I honestly don't know. They never pressured me like this before. Not even when she eloped, did they tell me I needed to be with someone, but all of a sudden, it's like my life isn't complete without a man!" Jo exclaimed. "And you know what sucks more? I have to call my mom during this break to talk to her about this some more."

"Just tell her how you feel and why you think it's unfair for them to expect this from you." Kendall told her.

"Okay." Jo nodded. She was glad Kendall was there for moral support. She picked up her phone and dialed her mom's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom, we need to talk."

"Jo sweetie, perfect timing. I was just thinking about calling you. Your father and I can't wait to see you on Christmas."

"Me too mom."

"We know that you've been busy up there and what not, but your father wanted to know if you were going to bring someone down with you."

Jo rolled her eyes, causing Kendall to giggle. "Mom, I told you, I'm not-"

"I know sweet heart but its just he didn't believe me. He said, and I quote, "My Jo is the most beautiful girl on this planet after my wife and Eloise, there is no way in hell that she doesn't have someone to bring down with her for Christmas. If El can get married and bring her husband, then Jo can too.""

Jo shut her eyes, and groaned inwardly. _"You've got to be kidding me." _She thought. "Mom, look, I really don't-"

"I understand Joey. Your father and I love you no matter what, it's just we don't want you to be alone again this Christmas. We just want you to be happy. But we understand if you don't want that. We're just worried about you that's all."

"Well you don't have to worry about me any longer because I do have someone!" She blurted out falsely. Kendall looked at her surprised and gave her a questioning look.

"Sweetie you do?" Her mom asked in disbelief. "I thought you said-"

"I was about to tell you but you kept interrupting. He proposed to me this morning after your call." She lied.

"Oh sweetie that's wonderful! But who is he? Why didn't you mention him before?"

"Um he's well a colleague of mine at the school. He's sweet, funny, a good guy, real family man, and uh I didn't want to tell you guys until I knew for myself that he was good enough for you guys to meet, and now you'll see him at dinner next week."

"Oh that's great news pumpkin. Your father will be most pleased to hear! What's his-"

"I have to go mom. I have a class in 5 minutes, so I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye." Jo hung up quickly. She closed her phone and slumped her head on the table. She cursed herself repetitively in a hushed tone.

"You just-" Kendall said with a half-smirk.

"I know. Kill me." Jo groaned.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

"I know okay, but I got annoyed!" Jo said. "She kept going on and on about how my dad really believes I can get a guy and how they both want me to be happy and I just wanted them to stop it forever."

"I understand, but engaged?" Kendall asked. "You could have just said you had a boyfriend, but now you have to be engaged too. And he's supposed to be coming to dinner with you."

"What did I just do?" She questioned herself. "I'm so screwed. Now I have to find someone to be my pretend fiancé on Christmas. How else can my day be ruined?"

"Well, you could have a class of tone-deaf freshmen next period." Kendall humored, cracking a smile on Jo's face.

"That's torture!" She laughed.

"I know. Guess we both need a Christmas miracle!" He joked. He got up from his seat and left her to finish up. Before he left, he turned around to ask her to go skating with him, Lucy, Logan and a few other friends. She declined as usual and they both went back to work.

After her creative writing class was finished, it was finally the end of the day. Jo was only a few minutes into packing when Camille showed up.

"Sorry I didn't answer this morning. I was busy getting some props out of the costume closet with Logan." Camille told Jo with a wink. Camille and Jo had found a way to discuss Camille's romance with Logan without anyone else knowing. Jo didn't understand why they kept it a secret since there was no rule against dating colleague but she let them deal with it on their own.

"Uh huh." Jo flashed the brunette with a knowing smile. "It's okay Kendall answered and it all worked out."

"Why were you late anyways?" Camille asked. Jo sighed and went into the full gruesome details of what had happened and how Jo made things worse during lunch. "Why'd you tell her that?"

"Because… I honestly don't know. I guess I'm just so sick of hearing the disappointment in their voices and maybe because they keep on expecting me to be like Eloise!" Jo responded.

"I feel you. My parents used to expect me to be like my older sisters too, granted I was younger so it's not all the same." Camille tried to empathize.

"What am I to do Cam?" Jo asked. Before Camille could answer the blonde, there was knock on Jo's door announcing the arrival of Kendall and Logan.

"Hello ladies, sorry to interrupt but I need to head out and was wondering whether any of you needed a ride?" Logan said, winking at Camille, who blushed and flashed Jo an apologetic smile.

"Go. I'll just figure it out on my own." Jo said, allowing Camille to go.

"I'll call you later though." Camille called back before her and Logan disappeared.

Jo turned her attention back to packing up her stuff. When she was finished, she looked up to see Kendall still standing there, staring at her. "Is there something I can help you with Mr. Knight?" She asked jokingly.

"Yes you may actually." He played along; he walked over to one of the desks and sat down, his hands clasped together on top of the desk. He then raised his hand, pretending to be a student. Jo chuckled and called on Kendall. "I have a question. Why don't you ever go out with anyone over the weekends?"

"That's not true! I do go out with Camille and Logan." Jo argued.

"Yeah, but that's when they aren't on a date, or pretending to be platonic. I've never heard you talk about your weekends since you moved here, and I want to know why? I mean I get it, you don't want to date, but I invite you to hangout every week with friends, and you always turn me down too." Kendall countered.

"I just don't really like going out. I prefer being at home alone." Jo answered honestly. "Besides, I still don't really know anyone here that well to hang out with them."

"You know me." He retorted with a kind smile. "We're friends aren't we not?"

"Yeah we are." Jo answered defiantly.

"Good. So it's settled, you're coming skating tomorrow with me." Kendall stated, getting out of his seat and making his way out of the room before she could stop him.

"No. Wait. Kendall! I never said-" She never could finish her sentence because Kendall was gone, leaving her alone once more to attend to her stuff.


	3. Invited

_**Don't worry there is more! I will be writing a lot more now that my first semester at college is almost over! -xoxo Tak**_

* * *

After her creative writing class was finished, it was finally the end of the day. Jo was only a few minutes into packing when Camille showed up.

"Sorry I didn't answer this morning. I was busy getting some props out of the costume closet with Logan." Camille told Jo with a wink. Camille and Jo had found a way to discuss Camille's romance with Logan without anyone else knowing. Jo didn't understand why they kept it a secret since there was no rule against dating colleague but she let them deal with it on their own.

"Uh huh." Jo flashed the brunette with a knowing smile. "It's okay Kendall answered and it all worked out."

"Why were you late anyways?" Camille asked. Jo sighed and went into the full gruesome details of what had happened and how Jo made things worse during lunch. "Why'd you tell her that?"

"Because… I honestly don't know. I guess I'm just so sick of hearing the disappointment in their voices and maybe because they keep on expecting me to be like Eloise!" Jo responded.

"I feel you. My parents used to expect me to be like my older sisters too, granted I was younger so it's not all the same." Camille tried to empathize.

"What am I to do Cam?" Jo asked. Before Camille could answer the blonde, there was knock on Jo's door announcing the arrival of Kendall and Logan.

"Hello ladies, sorry to interrupt but I need to head out and was wondering whether any of you needed a ride?" Logan said, winking at Camille, who blushed and flashed Jo an apologetic smile.

"Go. I'll just figure it out on my own." Jo said, allowing Camille to go.

"I'll call you later though." Camille called back before her and Logan disappeared.

Jo turned her attention back to packing up her stuff. When she was finished, she looked up to see Kendall still standing there, staring at her. "Is there something I can help you with Mr. Knight?" She asked jokingly.

"Yes you may actually." He played along; he walked over to one of the desks and sat down, his hands clasped together on top of the desk. He then raised his hand, pretending to be a student. Jo chuckled and called on Kendall. "I have a question. Why don't you ever go out with anyone over the weekends?"

"That's not true! I do go out with Camille and Logan." Jo argued.

"Yeah, but that's when they aren't on a date, or pretending to be platonic. I've never heard you talk about your weekends since you moved here, and I want to know why? I mean I get it, you don't want to date, but I invite you to hangout every week with friends, and you always turn me down too." Kendall countered.

"I just don't really like going out. I prefer being at home alone." Jo answered honestly. "Besides, I still don't really know anyone here that well to hang out with them."

"You know me." He retorted with a kind smile. "We're friends aren't we not?"

"Yeah we are." Jo answered defiantly.

"Good. So it's settled, you're coming skating tomorrow with me." Kendall stated, getting out of his seat and making his way out of the room before she could stop him.

"No. Wait. Kendall! I never said-" She never could finish her sentence because Kendall was gone, leaving her alone once more to attend to her stuff.

* * *

Jo lay in her bed watching some random movie on her T.V. Today was not her day at all. She was certain the world was out to get her. She lay in bed with a bowl of popcorn on her stomach and a bottle of Advil for her major headache, when her phone rang. She groaned loudly, before picking it up.

"Hello?" Jo answered in a false perky voice.

"Someone's in a better mood!" Camille replied back on the other line.

"Oh its you." Jo said in her normal I-hate-my-life voice.

"I guess that means you still haven't figured out what to do." Camille stated, earning her a low growl from Jo. "No need to get angry. I think I have a solution for you. You get someone to pretend to be your fiancé for the night and then after you come back, you say you both ended it mutually due to some extreme differences."

"That's a great idea, why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah because no one would agree to that!" Jo said sarcastically.

"Well Ms. Cynical, I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" Camille retorted.

"Sorry Cam. It's just who in the world would pretend to be my fiancé?" Jo asked.

"Whoever needs the money." Camille replied. "Look it's the best shot you have other than telling the truth, which you won't do, so might as well try. I mean what's the worst that can happen other than them finding out you lied? It's gonna come out eventually."

"Ugh. You're right. But who am I gonna get?"

"I'd let you take Logan, but we have dinner at my parents home in Connecticut. But don't you worry, we'll find you someone."

"Thanks Camille. You rock!" Jo said. She smiled a bit, but was ultimately too sad to hold it.

"So I heard you're going skating with Kendall tomorrow." Camille said suggestively.

"What are you implying?" Jo asked, confused.

"Oh nothing, just, he's been trying to get you to go with him for a while now."

"He has a girlfriend, who by the way is also going." Jo told her friend, rolling her eyes. "Also, I'm not attracted to him at all." She lied.

"Still. I find it interesting that despite him dating Lucy, he keeps asking you to hang out with him." Camille said.

"How is that interesting? Doesn't he do that with everyone?" Jo inquired.

"Nope. You're the only one." Camille said. Jo could feel Camille's lips forming a smirk. "And its odd because there have been 3 other new teachers as well, two of which are also female."

"That's just… He's just… He's just a nice guy. Plus we're friends so of course he'd ask. He's being friendly." Jo argued. She refused to believe that Kendall was being anything more than kind with his offers.

"Whatever." Camille smirked some more. "Enjoy your night alone with your bowl of popcorn."

They both said goodbye and hung up. There was no way Camille was right about this? Right?


	4. Icebreaker

_**Gah I am trying so hard to get this done before Christmas but its hard as heck and I have so much to do but here is another chapter! Enjoy! -xoxo Tak**_

* * *

"Kendall, I can't come. I don't feel too well." Jo lied on the phone.

"Are you chickening out because you can't skate?" Kendall asked, catching her lie.

"Pshhh no!" She lied again, badly this time. "I really am sick though."

"Well according to Dr. Mitchel, skating will make whatever illness you have go away." Kendall said playfully. "Unless of course you can't skate?"

"Ugh. Fine okay. I can't skate." She finally said.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. The guys and I have been skating since we were two, so don't worry." Kendall assured. "But you have to come."

"Fine I will." Jo said reluctantly. They hung up and she went to get ready. She didn't know what was appropriate to go skating, so she just threw on whatever warm clothes she could find. She looked in the mirror, dissatisfied with how she looked and went back to find a cuter outfit. When she finally found the right sweater and jeans, she threw on her boots, coat, gloves, and scarf and headed out.

The local ice rink had two areas for skating, one indoor and one outdoors. Jo had never seen so many people at an ice rink. Back home in North Carolina no one ever ice-skated. There was no need to since it never got cold enough for water to freeze, but here in Minnesota, everyone ice-skated. Either you skated, played hockey, or came to watch. Jo wished she could just watch the others skate. She was terrified of being on the ice. Her face must have showed it too, because when she joined the others, Logan immediately asked her if she was all right.

"I'm fine." She squeaked, looking at the skaters at the outdoor rink.

"It's okay to be nervous. I was too when I first skated." Logan assured. Jo took a big gulp and nodded, the fear still riding on her. "Besides, you'll have two of the best teacher's in the town helping you."

"Who?" She asked.

"Me" Kendall said with a smirk. His arms were around Lucy who was chuckling as if Kendall had made some private joke only she knew about.

"And me." Logan said, giving Jo another reassuring smile.

They went to the counter and paid. Jo rented a pair of skates and put them on with Logan's help. They then went out to join Kendall and Lucy on the ice. Jo was very hesitant as she put her foot down on to the ice. She could immediately feel herself slipping. She immediately grabbed onto the wall and tried to get back some control. From a distance, she could hear Kendall's giggles. She shot him a playful glare.

"Jo, just stand up straight. No movement needed right now." Logan advised. Jo did as Logan said, trying to balance herself. "Now bend your knees a little, but keep your chest out and straight." Jo followed Logan's instructions. "Now slowly start moving."

"No, I can't." Jo said, panicking. "I'm gonna fall."

Kendall seeing the blonde girl's struggle, decided to help her. "You won't fall. We'll skate with you. Grab my hand." He offered her his hand. She took it quickly. "Now use your other hand to grab Logan's."

Jo held on to both boys' hands tightly, continuing the position Logan had told her to be in. Lucy skated over to join them. She linked her arm with Kendall's. They began to skate slowly around the rink, making sure Jo was still okay. She began to find it enjoyable. "I think I got the hang of it." She said.

"Well in that case, everybody break!" Kendall exclaimed.

"Whoa, what!?" Jo exclaimed as she let her grip on Logan's hand get loose allowing him to break free. Lucy had already broke from them, but Jo held on tighter to Kendall, causing them both to stumble as she pushed her toe-pick down to stop. Kendall tried to turn to face her keep her from falling, but she fell anyways, right on top of him.

They both groaned. "I'm sorry." Jo apologized. She lay right on top of his chest.

"You're knee is in my groin." Kendall croaked.

"Omg I'm soo sorry!" She said rolling off him and onto the cold ice. A crowd began to gather around them. Logan and Lucy were laughing at the whole thing. Jo's cheeks blazed red from embarrassment and the cold. "I told you this wasn't a good idea."

"It's okay. It happens." Kendall said, he managed to get up and even tried to help her up.

"No just leave me here to die." Jo said.

"No way Jose." Kendall stated, getting her up. "It wasn't that bad."

"I made you fall and crushed your balls." Jo said. She tried to get herself back to the wall.

"It could have been worse." Logan said.

"You could have done what I did, and knock everyone over like dominos." Lucy added with a smile.

"Did your really?" Jo asked. Lucy nodded. Jo cracked a smile, feeling better.

"So just cause you fell once doesn't mean you shouldn't try ever again." Kendall stated.

"But I know I'm just going to fall again." Jo said.

"Half the fun is in the falling." Lucy countered. Jo sighed and tried to skate again, still keeping her self near the wall. She used it as support, and her friends skated right by her. She began to get better and better, but still wasn't ready to risk going to the center as seeing she was still stumbling and falling.

When they had finished, they went to a nearby pizza parlor for dinner. Jo sat next to Logan while Lucy and Kendall went to order. "So, Camille told me about your little dilemma." Logan said.

"So you know how I'm screwed for the holidays?" Jo joked.

Logan gave a small chuckle. "Well yeah. I wish I could help you. I asked Kendall, but we couldn't really think of anyone. Our friend James would have been perfect but he can't this holiday. And I don't think our other friend Carlos would be as believable."

"Thanks for trying anyways." Jo said. She put her head back and closed her eyes. She hadn't realized how sore her body was from all the falling.

They both sat in a few moments of silence when they both overheard Kendall and Lucy arguing on their way back to the table.

"You have to go!" Kendall said.

"No I don't!" Lucy fought.

"They're your parents! You haven't seen them in six years, you have to go!" Kendall stood his ground.

"Why should I?" Lucy countered.

"Because you never know when you'll see them again." Kendall said solemnly.

"Sounds like they're fighting again." Logan whispered to Jo.

"Again?" She asked.

"Yup. Before you arrived, they had been going at each other over the same thing. They do it every year, especially during major holidays." Logan informed.

"Why?" Jo asked curiously.

"Well you see, Lucy moved out here when she was 18 to live with her aunt to get away from her parents, she went to college with me and Kendall, that's how we met. Her and Kendall had gotten close and each year, her parents would invite her back home to spend time with them, Lucy always refused, but Kendall would always insist on her going. She never listened. It's been six years like he said, and I think this time he's not gonna be satisfied until he wins."

"Oh that's so sad. I mean I know my parents are not the best, but six years without ever seeing them is just insane to me." Jo said. They both stopped talking as Kendall and Lucy sat back down with false smiles. The pizza arrived and they all ate, pretending like nothing had happened, but Jo couldn't look at the couple the same way again, especially Kendall.

* * *

Kendall went home that night, sore from the nasty fall him and Jo had. He checked his body for bruises and was surprised to find a large purplish blob on his lower abdomen. He surprisingly smiled though. He liked the spunky blonde even if she was a total klutz on ice. He didn't think she'd show up even after she said she would. He had half expected her to call back again with a different excuse, but there she was trying to learn how to skate all because he asked her to.

He wanted to help her more with her situation, but he and Logan had already blanked out. Maybe if he pretended… no that wouldn't work because he promised Lucy he'd go with her to see her parents this Christmas. It was the only way she'd agree to go.

But then again Georgia and North Carolina were close to each other. He debated for a while before he decided he'd help both girls out. He'd fly down with Lucy to Georgia for Christmas eve and then surprise Jo and her family on Christmas morning, that way Lucy and her family can get some quality alone time and Jo won't have to suffer at her parents. Now the trick was to get approval from both girls.


	5. Home for the Holidays

_**I'm trying to finish it up fast!**_

* * *

"No." Jo stated firmly. Kendall had called her during lunchtime to tell her is insane proposition. She was grateful for his help but she couldn't let him do it.

"Why not? Lucy said it was fine as long as I come back to her for New Years." Kendall explained.

"Still no." Jo said.

"C'mon! You need someone to be your fake fiancé and I'm offering." Kendall countered.

"I'm so thankful for your offer but I can't let you get caught up in this. It's too risky." Jo said.

"But I love risks!" Kendall exclaimed.

"What happens if we have to kiss?" She asked logically.

"Well you were in theater, we'll fake it." Kendall fought.

Jo was silent on the other line. She was seriously contemplating this idea. She wasn't too sure it would be good for them to risk their friendship over her lies, but what other choice did she have? "Ugh. Fine. But if you feel like it's too much, you can leave anytime. I won't stop you."

"Now why would I do that?" He asked.

"Well, you'll just have to see…"

* * *

It was a few days before Christmas when the holiday break began. Jo and Kendall were packed up and ready to go. Kendall was to go to Georgia with Lucy to see her off to her parents. He'd spend the night there and leave to go to Jo's the next day.

Jo was planning on leaving the same day as Kendall and staying at a friend's until he arrived, but that plan fell through when her friend had gotten some last minute plans with family. She couldn't change her flight and was forced to go see her parents with out Kendall. At least now she could give a good back-story with out making them too suspicious.

Her plane had arrived at six in the evening. She had expected her parents to come get her, but was shocked to find that neither of them had come to get her. She was confused as to why they'd leave her to come on her own when they wouldn't stop calling her before. She got that answer when she arrived at her house.

Her parents and friends had thrown her a welcome home/engagement party, expecting her to have come with Kendall. They were disappointed when she arrived alone, but nonetheless, they celebrated her homecoming with joy. Everyone was asking her the same questions: Who is he? What's his name? What does he do? Where'd you meet him? How'd he propose? Blah blah blah. She didn't know what to tell everyone other than his name and where she met him and what he did. After that, the idea of her marrying another teacher kind of bored everyone so they stopped asking.

Jo's parents on the other hand didn't ask any questions at all. Were they waiting to be alone to know more or did her lack of fiancé confirm their suspicions of her fib?

After the party had died down and everyone began to leave, Jo snuck into her old bedroom to lie down, but she was surprised to find it decorated like a honeymoon suite. The bed was covered in rose petals and satin sheets. There were even scented candles all around. She was so confused as to why her room looked like someone's wedding night.

"You like?" Her mother asked from behind, scaring Jo half to death.

"Um I… it's great but why?" She asked.

"Well we thought you and Kendall were going to come down together, so we were going to allow you to stay in your room together." Her mom replied. Jo gave her a weak smile and turned her attention back to the room. "But I guess now it's just a waste."

"Sorry. If I had known, I'd have gotten Kendall to come down with me." She lied.

"Speaking of which," Jo's father came from behind her and her mom, "why isn't Kendall with you?" He asked.

"He wanted to spend some time with his family too, but he said he'd be here soon." She lied again. She hugged her parents to prevent them from asking more questions until she had figured out a flawless back-story. "Thank you both for this, for all of this. It means so much to me. I missed you guys."

"We missed you too Joey." Her dad said.

"I guess we should let you get some rest before we go tree shopping in the morning." Her mom said. Jo's family had waited for both their daughters to be home to begin the real decorating. Jo smiled, finally feeling like she was home.

* * *

Kendall was feeling miserable as he sat down the dinner table with Lucy and her family. Lucy wouldn't stop giving him an earful about all the reasons she hated being with her parents. Kendall honestly couldn't see all those things. Her parents were nice and looked like they really loved their only daughter. Then again, he was a guest and would never be able to see them in their true form.

Dinner with the Stones would have been pleasant if Lucy hadn't made her mother burst into tears after telling her that she refused to eat dinner because it wasn't vegan.

"Did you really have to do that?" Kendall whispered.

"She knows I'm vegan. She's known for years now Kendall." Lucy argued.

"Why do you always gotta fight them? They love you Luce." Kendall said.

Lucy rolled her eyes at Kendall, but knew he was right. Kendall gritted his teeth annoyed. _"How can someone be so rude to the people who love them so much?"_

He was kind of glad that he'd be leaving them for the next five days.

* * *

"JOEY!" Eloise yelled as she saw her older sister come down from her room. Jo had woken up an hour ago, but got ready before heading down to see her parents. She was surprised to see her sister run at her the way she did. Jo and her sister got along fine, but never really were close like most sisters. Eloise was three years younger than Jo, but her parents always treated her like she was older.

In the past year, Jo had only talked to her sister twice, once on her own birthday and then again on her sister's. Eloise hadn't shown up during Thanksgiving because she was traveling France with friends, that's where she had gotten married to the man that Jo still hadn't heard anything about. Which was odd since her parents never told Jo anything either.

"ELLIE!" Jo shouted, embracing her sister. Eloise looked a lot like her older sister, with the same brown eyes and cute smile, but Eloise's hair was brown and curlier, her eyes were bigger, her smile exposed dimples, and her nose was smaller. She was just a bit shorter than Jo, but not extremely short. Everyone thought Eloise was perfect and adorable.

"I missed you!" Eloise said. "I'm so sorry I haven't talked to you since the beginning of November, I just got really busy with finals and then France and getting married. Do not get married in France, its beautiful and romantic, but so expensive, even for elopers!"

"I'll try to remember that." Jo said with an awkward chuckle.

"Speaking of you getting married, where's soon to be Mr. Jo?" Eloise asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you where your husband is?" Jo asked. "No one has told me anything about you guys getting married, or shown me pictures. Heck, I don't even know his first name!" Jo complained jokingly.

"We'll have enough time for that after we get a tree." The girls' father said.

They ate their breakfast and joined their parents out into the car and tried to catch up a bit on their lives outside of love. Jo learned that her sister dropped out of college after getting married and plans to be a housewife. Jo was shocked to hear. Her sister was intelligent and could be anything she wanted. She was pursuing to be a doctor, but now she only wanted to start a family, something Jo never thought she'd hear from her sister.

They went to a special holiday store to find a real Christmas tree. There were no evergreens in their region, so most people got artificial trees, but Jo and her family always went out of their way to get real trees. Once her father drove up all the way to Virginia to get one. Her parents loved Christmas, as did she and her sister. It was the one holiday they all could agree on. She wanted this one to be just like the past ones.

After they got the tree and bought a few extra decorations, they drove out to a late lunch. According to Eloise, her husband was supposed to be coming over for dinner tonight, so they wouldn't be having dinner until then. Jo hoped Kendall would make it in time for dinner, or at least the night.


	6. Holiday Surprise

_**I'm running out of time! GAH!**_

* * *

Jo and her father were setting up the Christmas tree while Eloise and her mom were preparing dinner. The light outside was slipping away when there was knock on the door.

"Honey, could you get that, it must be Eloise's husband." Jo's father said. Jo looked at her father funny. Everyone had been so careful not to say Eloise's husband's name and it was kind of driving Jo insane.

She did as her father asked and went to answer the door, but Eloise had beaten her to it, so Jo turned around to go back to help her father, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard the guest speak. "That voice." She whispered. Chills ran down her back. When she finally pinpointed whom it belonged to, her jaw clenched and her hands furled into fists.

She spun around and locked her eyes on to the same, icy blue eyes of Jett Stetson, her ex-boyfriend and now brother-in-law. She was beyond angry. Her parents and her sister all kept this from her. She walked straight up to Jett and punched him. Eloise shrieked at her sister's actions.

"JO THAT IS MY HUSBAND!" Eloise screamed, helping Jett.

"GOOD TO KNOW YOU'RE MARRIED TO MY EX-BOYFRIEND WHO IS A LIAR AND A CHEATER!" Jo yelled back. "EVEN BETTER TO KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU KEPT THIS FROM ME!" She was so angry; she left the house in a rage. How could her parents do this to her? How could her sister do this to her? **Her own family.** How did this even happen? Eloise had only met Jett once, and now they're married. How was this possible?

Jo felt so stupid for coming down. She didn't need to lie to her parents. She didn't care what they thought any more. She wanted to get away from here, back to Minnesota; at least there, everyone she loved wouldn't hurt her. At least there, there _was_ no one to hurt her.

* * *

"I thought she knew." Jett said. He was icing his face that was now bruised slightly. He had been expecting Jo to be annoyed, but he had assumed she had known he was married to Eloise.

"We didn't tell her. We were going to break it to her when you arrived, but we didn't expect her to be this angry." Eloise said weakly. Everyone felt terrible. Jo's parents had been against not telling her, but Eloise had pleaded her family to keep quiet. She felt so guilty for bringing pain onto both Jo and Jett. She sniffled, stifling tears.

"Baby, it's okay. I'll go talk to her." Jett said, consoling his wife.

"No. She might just hurt you more." Eloise stopped. "I need to talk to her myself." Before she could go, there was another knock on the door.

Jo's father went to open the door this time and was greeted by Kendall. "Hello sir." Kendall said. "Is this the Taylor residence?" Kendall asked, nervous and a bit intimidated by Jo's father.

"Yes this is. Who may you be looking for?" Mr. Taylor asked.

"Um I'm Kendall, Jo's uh fiancé. Is she here?" Kendall asked, noticing tension from everyone's faces in the background.

Jo's mom rushed forward to greet Kendall. She wore a genuine smile of relief. "It's so nice to finally meet you Kendall. Jo has told us so much about you."

Kendall politely smiled and shook her parents hands, but knew her mom was lying when she said that. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Is Jo not here?" He asked again.

"Oh she went for a quick walk a few minutes ago." Mr. Taylor answered.

"I was just about to go get her." Eloise said. "I'm Eloise by the way, her sister."

Kendall shook her hand as well. She introduced him to Jett too. Kendall stayed polite, but was freaking out inside because Jo was nowhere in sight so he decided to go out and find her. "I can come with you to get her." He offered.

"Oh no, you don't have to." Eloise said.

"I insist. In fact, I'll go get her while you all stay." He suggested.

"Um." Eloise didn't know what to say. She didn't want to seem rude. Before she could say no, he was out the door.

Kendall looked for Jo all over the neighborhood. It took him two hours before he found her at a park, a few blocks away. He saw her sitting on a swing in the dark. She looked so sad. He didn't like to see her sad. He walked over to her and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped from his touch.

"Back off! I know judo!" She exclaimed, getting into a fighting stance.

"Jo, it's me, Kendall." He said, backing up a bit.

"Kendall?" She said softly. "What are you doing here?"

"To help you, remember." Kendall said. "But more importantly why are you here and not at home?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said quietly. He could tell she had been crying. He had never seen Jo cry or even sound as weak and vulnerable as she did right now. He knew this wasn't a side of her she was willing to expose to anyone, but was forced to under the circumstance.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but let's go back to your house." Kendall suggested.

"No. I'm not going back there." She replied, her voice cracking.

"Why not?" Kendall asked, sitting down on the swing next to her.

"I don't want to see him. Or them for that matter." She replied. A few silent tears dripped down her cheek, invisible in the dark.

"Who him? And why not them? They're your family Jo. They love you." He stated.

Jo scoffed. "Love me? As if. If they loved me, they'd have told me my sister married the guy responsible for why I'm so-" She stopped.

"Why you're what?" Kendall tried to get her to continue, but she kept quiet. "If you don't talk about it, then it'll just tear you up on the inside."

Jo sniffled, but turned to face Kendall. She didn't want to let anyone in, but here she was, about to tell Kendall everything. "My sister married Jett, my ex-boyfriend. Because of him, I stopped dating. I swore off of any emotional attachment to anyone other than my family. But today, my family proved to be worse than him." She began.

"My parents knew what Jett had done to me, so did Eloise, but they all kept that he was now married to my sister from me. When I saw him, I punched him, naturally. That man broke my heart, and never apologized. I didn't even know Eloise and him talked after him and I broke up. How could they do this to me after everything he put me through?" She asked through sobs.

Kendall walked over to Jo and embraced her. He let her cry on him. He now understood why her parents had pushed for her to have gotten someone by now, so she would be able to forgive Jett and accept his marriage with Eloise, but he knew better than to tell Jo that. Especially when she was opening herself up to him. He held her in his arms until she couldn't cry any more.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this Kendall. You can go back to Lucy tomorrow if you want. I'm not staying here any longer." She said, sniffling.

"No, Jo you shouldn't leave because of this. You need to prove to your family and him that you're the bigger person." Kendall told her. "Leaving won't solve anything. He'll still be married to your sister, and you still won't know the whole story. You need to go back there, head up high, and show them that you are the master of your own life."

"But I'm not. I'm just a weak little girl who can't trust anyone anymore." She whined. "Plus I don't want to see his face again. I might hit him again."

Kendall laughed. "You can trust me. And if that happens, it happens, but you need to get back there and find out more."

She groaned but didn't argue. Kendall offered her his arm for support while they walked back. She was glad that someone was here for her, but she was even happier that it was Kendall.


	7. Oh Christmas Tree

_**Merry Christmas guys! I don't have this finished :( I'm sorry but I tried and I just can't seem to find the time to finish! -xoxo Tak**_

* * *

Jo apologized to Jett reluctantly, but was surprised to hear him apologize to her too. Her parents hugged her and bombarded her with more apologies, which she accepted. Her sister apologized too, in more tears than Jo had cried. Jo hugged her sister and accepted her sincere apology as well. When everything had settled down, everyone was able to properly meet Kendall. They learned that he was a chorus teacher as well as the hockey coach at the school. They also learned how him and Jo met. They didn't ask for too many details, but they all talked about them two over dinner. Jo was surprised how well Kendall had taken to her family and vice versa.

After dinner, they went to the living room to begin decorating the tree together as a family. Jo helped Kendall take his bags up to her room. Kendall glanced around her old room. He noticed how it described Jo perfectly. There were only a few decorations up, but they were beautiful and stood out. The photos were mostly of her family and friends, with only a few of her. Her bed was large enough for two, but only had one pillow in the middle of the head, representing how she liked to only share with herself. He liked it though. It was quaint and perfect.

"I like your room." He told her. "It's so you."

"Uh thanks. I'm not the artsy one in the family so it's such a writer's room." She told him.

"I like it like this. Too much art can ruin the room." He said. He looked over to see the blonde girl glancing around the room. He could tell she didn't think the same.

"Let's just go help decorate the tree." She said. She took his hand and led him down with her and back to the living room. Her family was laughing and having fun decorating. Kendall watched them mostly. He noticed how big Jo's smile would get every time her parents and sister brought up old memories. They may have hurt her, but their love for her was stronger.

He couldn't deny that he loved to see her smile. It was the perfectly imperfect smile of someone who was truly happy. Her smile made him smile stupidly to himself. Jo looked over at him standing and watching.

"What?" She asked noticing his grin. "Is there something on my face?"

He chuckled. "No. I just find this whole scene cute."

She eyed him suspiciously, but decided he was being truthful. "Join us in decorating!"

He went over next to her and she handed him a picture frame ornament. He looked at it and noticed that the child in the picture was toddler-aged Jo sitting in Santa's lap.

"God! Don't look at that." She said. "I look terrible with no teeth and crazy hair."

"You look cute." He argued. He placed it onto the tree next to a dove ornament. They put a whole bunch of ornaments before they took a cookie break. Mrs. Taylor had baked enough cookies to feed a town. She insisted that Kendall eat a lot of them. Kendall politely ate until he felt like he was going to hurl. They all were gathered around the freshly decorated tree.

"So Kendall, tell me something son," Mr. Taylor began, "why do you think you're the one for my Jo?"

"David, don't scare the poor kid. He'll run before they can even plan their 'I Do's'" Mrs. Taylor said.

"Well if he runs, it just proves he's not worthy of her." Mr. Taylor said.

Kendall looked nervously at Jo who wore a look that said, "kill me please."

"Sir, I believe that I'm not worthy of your daughter at all. In fact no one is. Jo deserves the best of the best." Kendall replied. "I may not be the best, but I know for a fact I will give Jo whatever she wants and needs to be happy."

Mr. Taylor looked at Kendall, impressed. "Well son, I expect nothing less than."

Jo looked at her father, mouth agape. He had never done such a short interrogation of any of the boys she brought home. When she brought home Jett, her father had taken him out of the house for the interrogation and they didn't come back until late at night.

"Well, look at the time. It's almost midnight and tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Why don't we all go to bed?" Mrs. Taylor suggested.

Everyone murmured in agreement. They bid their goodnights and went into their respective rooms. Kendall and Jo were back in her room, trying to figure out how they were going to sleep in the same room.

"You sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." Jo told Kendall.

"No, it's your room, you should sleep on your own bed. I'll sleep on the floor." Kendall argued.

"No, you're the guest, you sleep on the bed." Jo fought.

"But you're the lady, and I insist you sleep on the bed." Kendall said chivalrously.

"And I am an independent lady who wants you on the bed." Jo said, making Kendall snicker. "What's so funny?"

"You just want me to get into your bed." He answered with a suggestive smirk.

Jo rolled her eyes, but chuckled herself. "You are so immature."

"You laughed too!" He countered. "How about we both sleep on the bed. It's big enough for two."

Jo thought about it. She was afraid something might happen, but then thought otherwise believing Kendall was trustable enough. "I guess, but we have to sleep in opposite directions."

"Deal!" Kendall said with a grin. They both unpacked their PJ's and went to change. Kendall left to use her bathroom, while Jo changed in the room. Kendall had quickly changed into a plain T-shirt and sweatpants and went back to Jo's room. He opened it and was revealed to a half-naked Jo trying to put her hair up in a bun before changing. He immediately shut his eyes and the door before she noticed. He swallowed hard.

He had never really seen Jo's outline or cared for it much but he was taken aback by how perfectly curvy it was. She wasn't stick thin or squash curvy. She was more like a normal pear shape, but with a slimmer bottom. He shook the image out of his brain, knowing it would only lead to trouble.

He knocked on the door to see if she was done. "Just a minute." She called out. She was looking at herself over in the mirror. She tried to make her self not look like a total bum in front of Kendall. She hadn't gone to bed with anyone since Jett and was afraid she would look scary if she didn't look pretty. She stuck to wearing cute pajama bottoms and a T-shirt rather than her baggy band shirts and sweats.

After she felt pleased by what she saw, she opened the door to let Kendall in. She had the bed set for both of them. Her pillow was at the foot while Kendall's was at the head. There were two blankets placed for them each.

"Looks cozy." He said. Kendall got in the bed and tried to get comfy. Jo turned the lights off and did the same.

"Good night." She called out.

"Night." He replied.


	8. Shadow

_**One more before the night is done!**_

* * *

He laid there, eyes wide-awake. The fact wasn't that he lacked tiredness, which he didn't, but that he felt so uncomfortable laying on the bed while Jo's head could be right next to his feet. Kendall moved a lot when he slept. He just didn't want to accidently kick her in the face and have her end up with a black eye. So he kept stiff, making for a very uncomfortable night.

Jo lie in a similar fashion. Every time she closed her eyes, she was haunted by the image of Jett. Even though she had tried to put everything behind her for the week, the idea of Jett with Eloise was eating her up inside. She was still bitter that no one told her and puzzled on how it was possible for the two to be together. Could it be possible that her sister had been seeing Jett behind her back before she broke up with him? That thought made Jo feel sick.

She couldn't shake the thoughts or feeling, so she decided to sit up. Kendall looked over at the disturbance and saw her pull her knees to her chest and rest her head on them. He watched her for a bit, waiting to see if she would do anything, but all she did was breathe in and out. He decided to see what was wrong.

"Hey, are you okay?" He whispered, sitting up himself.

"Oh, did I wake you?" She whispered back, caught by surprise.

"No, I was already awake, couldn't sleep." He replied.

"Why not?" She asked in her normal yet quiet voice.

"I just didn't feel too comfortable." He answered.

"Sorry." She said.

"Nah, it's not your fault. I should have known that the opposite direction thing wouldn't work out." He told her. "But anyways, what's wrong? Why are you up?"

"Couldn't sleep either." She answered.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I don't know. I've just been thinking too much about things." She said vaguely.

"Things like?" He inquired.

"It's irrelevant." She said, unconvincingly.

"If it were irrelevant, you wouldn't be up all night thinking about it, so why not just talk to someone to get it out of your mind?" He rationalized.

"Are you always this sensible? Or do you just like to point things out to annoy me?" She humored.

"A little bit of both." He joked, flashing her a full smirk, teeth and all.

She rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Well, I think it's just to annoy me."

"And I think you're trying to avoid the subject." He said.

"Fine." She stuck her tongue out at him "I just can't stop thinking about how my sister is with my ex. I'm trying my hardest to not let it bother me, but every time I close my eyes, there they both are, happier than me and him used to be."

"Ah. I see." Kendall responded.

"See what?"

"The issue." Jo raised her eyebrows questioningly. Kendall continued. "You still have feelings for him."

"Ew! No way!" She denied. "He broke my heart. I hate him."

"Ah, but see, if he broke your heart, you must have loved him a lot. People don't just stop loving someone over night."

Jo pouted. She hated that Kendall was right about everything and about her. She turned away from him. She could remember perfectly how happy Jett had made her. He was her first real, grownup relationship. They met in college and he always treated her like she deserved the moon and sun. He would always know just the right things to say and do when she needed him most. He was honest with her, well at least she thought. She had given him everything, but in the end he didn't want her.

Jo could feel heavy tears form in her eyes, threatening to spill out any second as she thought about every kiss, every hug, and every smile Jett gave her. She felt silly for having believed she could get used to the idea of Eloise with him. He had been her first love. Tears slid down her face as she silently cried.

Kendall could hear her whimper and try to stop herself from crying. "Jo, I'm sorry if I hurt you in anyway. I didn't mean to make you upset." He said, regretting what he said previously.

She sniffled. "It's not your fault." She sniffled again, tears still falling. "You were just telling the truth. You're right. I did love Jett a lot. He was my first love. He was the first guy to have ever truly made me feel special. I thought he would be the one I'd marry, and I'd be spending my whole life with him, but instead he's with my sister after having cheated on me. Do you know how much that hurts?" Her voice broke and her crying became more audible.

Kendall felt terrible. Jo looked so vulnerable again, and there he was just siting there, not helping. He wanted to comfort her without crossing any lines, but the more she cried, the less important those lines became. He took a hold of her hand and brought her close to him. She situated next to him as he put his arms around her and let her cry on him again. He rubbed her back to comfort her a bit.

"Shhh, it's okay Jo." He whispered.

"Is it really Kendall?" She spoke. "How can it be okay for my sister to marry my first love? Or for him to have cheated on me and then marry my sister?"

Kendall sat speechless.

"All my life I've had to follow the footsteps of my younger sister. ALL MY LIFE. And then finally I had someone who didn't see me as her older sister, someone who treated me special for being me and not just to get with my sister. But then, he cheats on me and then a few years later I find out that my sister gets him too. How is that fair to me? What did I do to become the one no one wants?" Jo's rant was over, but her crying was not.

"Jo, you're not unwanted. There is no reason why someone wouldn't want you. You're beautiful, funny, intelligent, strong willed, and much much more." Kendall tried to calm her.

"No I'm not. Not compared to her. Everyone loves her. Everyone wants her. No one would ever look at me while she's around. She got asked to my prom by my crush while I ended up having to go alone. I will never be seen as long as I'm near her."

"Sounds like your real problem is with your sister. I'm sorry that you've been treated the way you have because of her, but right here right now, there's one person here who would much rather stay with you than her." He assured.

Jo sniffled into his chest and whispered, "Really? Who?"

"Well not me obviously." He joked, getting her to laugh a bit.

"Thank you so much for being here with me, Kendall. You don't know how much it means to me to have you here. If you weren't here, I think I'd have died. Or worse, done something I'd regret."

"Well what are friends for?" He said.

"Most people would never fake being engaged for a friend. I don't know what possessed you to want to do this." She stopped crying. "Why did you do this?"

"I don't know. I just really wanted to help you. I mean, ever since I've met you, you've always kept to yourself and never really talked to us about your personal life, and I just wanted to help you so you would open up to us a bit more. Besides, I like you Jo. You're not like a lot of girls I've met." Kendall told her.

"Is that a good thing?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes. A very good thing." He said. "I've never had friend like you. It's weird how we only met a few months ago and you've already become my best friend."

"Don't forget fiancée!" She joked, making Kendall laugh this time.

"You're really something special Jo, don't forget it." He told her.

She smiled to herself. It was the first time she felt good about herself since her break up with Jett.

She kissed Kendall on the cheek to thank him.

"You're welcome. Let's get to sleep so your parents don't suspect anything." He said.

"They'll probably just assume we were having sex." Jo stated.

Before Kendall could respond, Jo yawned and nuzzled into his chest indicating that she was done for the night. He instinctively pulled her in tighter and closed his eyes to sleep.


	9. Are You Sure?

**_Still not finished but here's another one!_**

* * *

Jo woke up pushed towards the edge of her bedside. Kendall's legs were in a mid kick position, indicating he had caused her to move farther away from him. It made her laugh how most people would end up having done something they'd regret when in bed with a friend, but Kendall just kicked her out.

She got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wake herself up properly. In the hallway Jett greeted her in his boxers and T-shirt. It was a sight she hadn't seen for the longest time, causing her to blush and scurry away before she'd think of the worst.

Jett looked back at the blonde girl run away. The sight of her made him feel sick in the stomach. Seeing her again reminded him of how much he had really liked her. But it was too late for those feelings to come back, considering he was now her brother-in-law.

He went back into his and Eloise's room. He looked at his wife sleep, but all he could think of was Jo and the way she used to sleep.

* * *

Kendall woke up to a phone call from Lucy. He had answered it, partially asleep, but it was enough for him to know that things were not going well with his girlfriend and her family.

"Kendall, I can't stay here. You have to come back. They're trying to set me up with my ex. I can't stay here." She complained to him.

"Wait, how can they try to set you up with your ex when they met me and loved me?" Kendall asked confused.

"They think you're a great guy for now but they don't think you're marriage material. My mom's always has been going on about how much she wanted me to marry her best friend's son Beau." Lucy explained. "I need you back Kendall."

"Luce, I can't come back you know that." He said, truthfully feeling sorry. "Try to explain to them that you don't want to be with Beau and how you're happy with me."

"They aren't going to listen." She replied. "They'll just be like 'oh fine, but give a Beau a chance and you'll come to your senses.' They won't understand. Please come back."

"I already promised Jo I'd-"

"I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Lucy interjected through the phone. "You're supposed to put me before others!"

"Luce, I can't just break a promise. When you break a promise, you also break a-"

"Don't give me that philosophical bull shit Kendall. If you don't want to be my Knight, then fine. Maybe I will go out with Beau." She spat and hung up.

Kendall closed the phone and groaned into his pillow. "Why do I got to be such a idiotic nice guy?" He complained to himself.

"Are you alright?" Jo asked, startling the blond boy. "Sorry, I kinda walked in and heard you talking to yourself."

He gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I just have a dilemma."

"What's wrong?" She asked, sitting next to him on the bed.

"It's just, Lucy's having trouble with her family and they are trying to get her to go out with her ex again, so she called to tell me to come back but I told her I couldn't because I was here helping you. She got mad because I'm supposed to be her boyfriend and put her first, but I made a promise to you, so she said she's going to go out with Beau because I'm failing to do my duties." Kendall explained.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault." Jo apologized.

"No it isn't. I shouldn't have done this." He responded.

"No, I should have declined your offer because I knew that it wouldn't work." She said. "You should really go see her to save your relationship."

"But what about you?" He asked.

"What about me? I'm not the love of your life so you don't really owe me anything. You showed up, which is good enough." She argued.

"But what will your parents say?" He questioned.

"Don't worry about me Kendall. I'll just tell them there was a family emergency so you had to go back home. Simple." She answered.

"Jo, I made you a promise."

"Which you did keep by coming here and pretending to be my fiancé. But now you have to go save your relationship with the real love of your life." She said.

"Are you sure?" Kendall asked.

"Positive. Now, go get ready and I'll call the airport and book your flight. We'll just have breakfast and then we'll break the news to my parents." She said.

"You truly are one heck of a girl Jo." He told her.

She gave him a thankful smile and began to look busy with unpacking her stuff. She didn't want him to leave. She didn't know why this was bothering her so much. She knew he'd have to leave to see Lucy anyway, but it made her a bit jealous and hurt that he would leave her like this.

"He's just your friend Jo." She told herself. She sighed and lay back in bed. It smelled fairly of Kendall. The aroma of his cologne mixed with the musk of sweat, which strangely smelled good to her. She thought about last night when he had brought her into his arms and rubbed her back to comfort her. No one had ever made her feel comfortable the way he had.

Was she beginning to like Kendall? No, it couldn't be. Could it? She hated this. He was making her fall for him when she had no chance in hell to ever be with him. He probably didn't even think of her as anything more than a friend like Logan and Camille.

Why was she even thinking about this? She had sworn off liking people for good after Jett, so why should Kendall become an exception?

She got up and decided to call the airport to book Kendall's flight. The faster she did the faster these feelings would get away.

When she called and asked, they told her that there were very limited flights since it was Christmas Eve and most of them were booked. She asked if there was any opening for a flight to Georgia in the next few hours and to her luck there had been one at nine at night. She booked it under Kendall's name and paid for it with her card.

Kendall came back, dressed and ready for the day. Jo told him the details of his new flight. "Thanks again Jo."

"You're welcome." She replied. "We should go down for breakfast now."

"Shouldn't you get dressed?" Kendall asked her.

"Oh. Yeah I should." She said looking down at herself. "You can go down with out me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Kendall headed down to the kitchen while Jo quickly changed into daywear. She was about to head down but she heard someone retching in the bathroom, so she went to investigate.

She knocked on the bathroom door, but all she heard was retching. "Eloise?"

"Jo, just a minute." Eloise replied before hurling again.

"El, are you alright?" Jo asked, concerned.

"Peachy." Eloise answered in a false cheery voice. The retching stopped and Jo could hear water running. She waited outside the door for her sister to come out.

Eloise walked out, pretending nothing happened. "Jo, what are you waiting for?"

"I wanted to know if you're okay. I heard you throwing up." Jo said.

"Oh, I think dinner just didn't sit well with me." Eloise lied. Jo eyed her sister suspiciously, but decided to let it go. It would come out eventually.

"If you say so." Jo said more harshly than intended.

"Jo, are you still mad at me for not telling you?" Eloise asked her sister.

"El, let's not talk about this right now okay. It's Christmas time." Jo avoided.

"So I'm guessing yes." Eloise said sadly. "Jo, I know that I should have told you, but I didn't know how."

"El. Stop. Let's just go to breakfast." Jo said. She didn't wait for her sister to reply. Jo knew it wasn't right to treat her sister like that but she felt it was only fair after what happened.

"Morning sweetheart." Jo's mother greeted her as she came down. "Kendall was just telling us how he taught you to ice-skate on your first date and you almost crushed him."

"Well I told him that I wasn't a skater." She complained.

"It's true, she did but it was the only way I could get to hold her hand." He stated, causing Jo to blush.

_"Did he really want to hold my hand?"_ She thought to herself. _"Of course not. He was just being nice."_

"Well aren't you just a romantic." Jo said sarcastically.

"Well I think it's sweet." Said a voice behind Jo. She didn't dare turn around because she knew it was Jett.

"Thank you." Kendall said politely. Jo walked over to sit next to Kendall at the table. Jett sat across from her. Eloise walked down and joined them to. She kissed Jett on the cheek before sitting down, making Jo roll her eyes inwardly.

Jo's mom had made cinnamon chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast that Kendall fell in love with. He had at least 3 stacks before he couldn't eat any more. Jo laughed as she watched him down them like water.

"So today, we thought we'd go see the lights festival in the town circle and then go watch the church choir before we have a late dinner." Jo's mom said.

"And after dinner we all exchange one gift with one another." Mr. Taylor added.

"Um, I think Kendall and I will have to skip out on all of that, there was a family emergency and he has to go back home." Jo told her parents.

"Oh no!" Mrs. Taylor exclaimed. "Is everything okay?"

"My sister is really sick and my mom can't take care of her alone." Kendall lied.

"Aww that poor dear." Jo's mom said. "Well I guess Jo will be seeing you off then."

"Yup! That's exactly what I'll be doing so I can't go with you all." Jo said rather cheerfully causing Jett to be suspicious.

"You know, I can always drop Kendall off at the airport so you can spend time with your family Jo." Jett offered.

"No!" Jo yelled. "I mean, no Kendall's my fiancé and I want to see him off."

"Well then, why don't we all go?" Mr. Taylor suggested.

"That's okay!" Kendall told them.

"No, we insist." Mr. Taylor stated. Kendall looked over at Jo who returned his nervousness.

After they ate, Jo and Kendall rushed upstairs as fast as they could to figure out how they were to stop her family from finding out he was going to Georgia and not Minnesota.

"We'll have to get there before them." Jo said. "I'll give them the wrong timings and they won't even know."

"This is getting ridiculous." Kendall admitted.

"I'm sorry. I'll just tell them the truth." She accepted defeat and was ready to go down and come clean.

"No. We've worked too hard." He stopped her.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into my problems. I'm a horrible friend." She told him.

"No you aren't. You were in need, and I came to your rescue." Kendall responded. "I should have been wiser about how I should have helped you."

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Kendall, can we have a word with you?" It was Mrs. Taylor.

Kendall looked over at Jo to get an explanation as to what was going on, but Jo looked just as confused as him. "I'll be right out."

Kendall left Jo to worry about things herself feeling awful that he had to leave her so soon.


	10. Truth Be Told

_**One more down!**_

* * *

Jo sat in her room, packing whatever she could when Jett came in. She stared at him, expecting an explanation as to why he was there. He closed the door and locked it behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded.

"We need to talk." He replied.

"No we don't." She responded.

"We do." He said, coming over to sit next to her. She moved back away from him. He sighed, but let her do what she wanted. "I need to apologize to you about more than just what happened between us back then."

She glared, not saying anything.

"I was a jerk to have done what I did. It was stupid and selfish and I never expect you to forgive me for it." He continued. "But there's so much more that I've done that I need to apologize for. For starters, I'm sorry Eloise and I didn't tell you. I told her that she needed to, but she didn't. Also, I know you'll hate me more for this, but I slept with Eloise when you brought me to meet your family."

"You what?!" Jo was enraged.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear. We both had been a little drunk and you were out with your parents and she said her back hurt so I offered to massage it for her. She kissed me and then I guess one thing led to another. I told her it was wrong, but she was the one to lead me up to her room."

"She what!?" Jo cried. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"She told me we could never talk about it, but I thought you should know." Jett said.

"Also, I never intended to get with your sister after we broke up, but when we met again…"

"Shut up!" Jo ordered. "GET OUT NOW!"

"But Jo I need to-"

"LEAVE!" She roared.

He did as she demanded and left. Jo slammed the door behind him and locked it. She was so angry with Jett for cheating on her twice. She was so angry with herself for having been cheated on twice by the same guy. But most importantly she was angry with her sister for making her boyfriend cheat on her and stab her in the back the way she did.

Jo was so done with her life in North Carolina. She decided that she was going to leave with Kendall and never come back. She didn't care if she hurt her family. She was tired of being hurt by them all these years. There was now nothing left for her here.

She began to furiously pack, but in the middle of packing, she fell to her knees and began crying. She didn't even know she was holding all those tears back. She felt so weak again and all she wanted was Kendall to come rescue her and make her feel strong like she pretended to be.

At that exact moment, as if her silent prayers had been heard, Kendall walked in and saw Jo slumped to the floor, back against the bed, face in her knees with heavy sobs flowing through her. He was highly confused, but even more concerned. He ran over to her, not saying anything at first.

When he finally assessed that she wasn't physically hurt, he sat down next to her and asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer. She couldn't answer because her crying would not stop. He couldn't bear to watch her like this. He pulled her into his arms and allowed her to weep thoroughly before trying again.

It took a while, but Jo finally began to calm down. Kendall tried to smile at her encouragingly, but she wasn't looking at him. She sniffed deeply before speaking.

"I'm sorry, we should get you to the airport." Jo said quietly, trying to recollect herself and brush off everything that was eating her alive.

"Jo, what's wrong?" He asked, ignoring what she said.

"Nothing to worry about." She said with a weak smile.

"You're a bad liar." He told her. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's not important. Besides you have to get back to your girlfriend." She replied. "Don't want her to get mad, do we?"

Kendall sighed. If Jo didn't want to talk he shouldn't pressure her to, but he was just as stubborn. "Jo, tell me what's wrong. I don't want you to be crying like that again."

"You shouldn't be so sweet to me." She was avoiding his attempts.

"Jo." Kendall said impatiently.

"Kendall." Jo mocked, causing a smile to grow on her face.

"Why won't you just tell me? I'm not going to bite or anything." Kendall retorted.

_"But you might break my heart."_ Jo thought to herself. Tears began to re-form in her eyes. She felt worse than before. Here there was a nice guy who wanted to get to know her and not hurt her, but he was taken, making her feel far more alone than she actually was.

Maybe going back to Minnesota wouldn't be such a good idea either. Maybe she needed to start a whole new life, away from her deceitful family and this too-good-to-be-true guy, and become someone different. Someone who was always a rock and never let others hurt her. Granted that was what she wanted since the day she finally got over Jett, but now there were too many variables in her math equation of a life. And she hated math.

Kendall noticed her eyes begin to get glossy again. "Talk to me Jo. I want to be here for you."

"There's nothing you can do Kendall." She stated gravely. "I've already dragged you into my mess of a life, there's no need for you to get buried like me."

"I want to dig you out Jo. I want to save you, if you let me in, I can pull you out." He told her. She looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Letting people in got me in this mess in the first place." She scoffed.

"Well those were the wrong people then." He said, looking at her with kind eyes.

"I never thought my family could be the ones to hurt me more than the strangers I've met along the way." Jo began. She tried to tell him everything that happened while he was talking to her parents, but just thinking about the things Jett told her made her bawl her eyes out.

Kendall barely made out half of what she had said, but what he did get was that Eloise backstabbed Jo, her family lied to her worse than before and Jett was the biggest douchebag in the world. By the end of it, he was upset and angry for her. If he knew Jo's family better, he'd go up to them and tell them all to their faces that they were the worst family ever, but he knew that wouldn't make anyone feel better. The one thing he could do was to take Jo away from them and keep her away from them.

"I'm staying with you tonight. You're not staying here alone." Kendall told her. "I won't let you get hurt by them."

"You can't just stay Kendall. You're going to Georgia to be with your girlfriend who needs you more than I do right now. You've done your part, the rest isn't what you signed up for." Jo rationalized through sobs. "I won't let you lose the girl you love over my problems."

"Will you forget about me and Lucy for a minute!" Kendall yelled, getting mad that she still wouldn't accept her help. "Ever since I've known you Jo, all you do is care about others and disregard yourself. You do it so much that you let others hurt you in the process and they don't realize it because you don't make them realize it. You run away and pretend to have put it in the past, when in reality it's still eating you up inside."

Jo moved away from Kendall. She knew he was only being harsh to make her realize that she needs to stand up for herself, but what he was saying still hurt like the knives in her back.

"What am I supposed to do then Kendall? Turn on my family and be like Lucy who never speaks to them? You of all people should know that family is important and the ones that stay when everyone else leaves. In a few years, you too will be out of my life, but my family will not." She said.

"But right now Jo, you need let them know what they've done. You need to make them realize that you won't let them take advantage of your love for them. You need to show them that what they've been doing to you all these years is wrong and until they change, you won't be coming back." Kendall argued.

Jo was about to fall back into her pit of despair. The only thing worse than having her family turn on her was confronting them about it. Especially if she confronted Eloise and made her feel bad because God forbid Eloise gets hurt by anyone. The thought of Eloise brought back the anger Jo had when Jett told her the real truth.

"You're right." She stated, inhaling the rest of her sobs. "I have to tell them off. I have to tell them the truth and I have to get away from them."

She got to her feet and tried to maintain her anger long enough to get the bravery to face her family. But before she could even turn around and do it, her father burst into the room with a panicked look.

"Jo, call the hospital, Eloise fainted." Her father ordered and ran out.

Jo's once stoic expression softened into a worry. She grabbed her phone and dialed 911 and told them what happened. She then rushed over to Eloise's room. Kendall followed.

They entered the room and found Jo's parents and Jett huddled over Eloise on the bed. Mrs. Taylor was checking her daughter's breathing and keeping a towel on her head.

"What happened?" Jo asked, pushing forward to get near her sister.

"We were talking and then El said her head was spinning and next thing I knew, she was falling." Jett explained. Jo looked at him suspiciously. She then turned to Eloise who was out cold. She had puffy eyes and most of the color had drained from her face, but she still managed to look graceful. There was no way a simple conversation would cause her social butterfly of a sister to faint easily. There was definitely more to Jett's story, but at the moment Eloise's health was what mattered.


	11. I'm Sorry Sis

_**Last chapter update of the year! So Happy New Year! Love you guys so much! Thanks for the support and I hope you stay with me as the this story and my own life story **_**_venture into a new year! Bless you all! And enjoy! -xoxo Tak_**

* * *

"We've called 911 and someone should be here soon." Kendall said trying to alleviate some of the tension and worry from the room. He felt terrible that this was all happening to Jo while he was here. He somehow felt responsible. But mostly he felt like he needed to stay to ensure Jo wouldn't end up going insane from her family.

Jo held onto Eloise's hand tightly, hoping some her sister would wake up so they knew it wasn't the worst. Jo mentally cursed herself for wanting to scold her sister earlier. She felt it was her bad karma biting her in the butt.

"El, you have to wake up!" Jo whispered to her sister, tears starting to sting her eyes.

"J-joey." El faintly responded. Jo gasped and hugged her sister tightly. "I- I'm sor-sorry." El said, before falling quiet again.

"El!" Jo called out to her baby sister. "Eloise wake up!"

The brown haired girl didn't respond. She quietly lay there, her breathing steady and slow, but everyone else was still worried. Jo held her baby sister's hand tightly until the doctor arrived and shooed everyone out of the room. Jo and her mother stood at the frame of the door waiting for the doctor to let them back in. Mr. Taylor stood behind his wife, hands on her shoulder, hoping to relieve some of her stress. Jett stood against the wall, arms crossed, looking at the ground, while Kendall stood awkwardly next to Jo, hoping her sister was okay and that this would all be over soon.

"Eloise is fine, she'll just be needing some rest for the next few hours." The doctor said coming out into the hall.

"What happened to her though?" Jo asked immediately.

"Eloise was under a lot of stress, causing her body to cope with it the only way it knew how, shutting down, causing her to black out." He explained.

"But why would she be stressed?" Jo asked, thinking it ridiculous that someone like Eloise ever had to deal with stress when things came so easily to her.

"There are many reason for her to get stressed, but it's best that she tells you all what had gotten her to feel stressed herself, unless of course, Jett has anything to say." The doctor looked at Jett, who seemed to keep his head down.

"Jett, what happened between you two?" Mr. Taylor asked.

"Eloise and I were arguing and I didn't mean to argue with her, but she kept insisting on it. She began crying and I tried to calm her down, but before I even touched her she began to fall." Jett tried to explain as vaguely as possible. The truth was they had been arguing about telling everyone the real reason why they got married, and since he had told Jo what he and Eloise had done years ago, he wanted the whole truth to be out so they all could move on from all of it.

"What did she insist on?" Jo asked, glaring at Jett.

Jett's eyes fell for a moment, contemplating what he should do, but before he could say a word, they heard a loud shriek come from the room, causing them all to run inside.

Eloise was wide-awake, tears falling from her honey colored eyes down her doll-like face. She was gasping for air, her chest heaving up and down. Jo and Susan both went to her side in hopes to calm her down. Jo held her sister's hand and looked at her with caring eyes.

"Jo!" Eloise cried, sitting up and pulling Jo into a tight embrace. For a moment Jo felt like she was 7 again, having her 5-year-old baby sister need her to make all the nightmares and thunder go away. Those were the few times when Jo truly felt like she was the older one who was going to take care and watch out for Eloise. But soon after, there was nothing Jo could do that Eloise couldn't do better, thus making Jo not so important in her little sister's life.

"I'm so sorry Jo!" Eloise cried heavily into her sister's ears. "I didn't mean to. It was a stupid mistake."

Jo hugged her sister in silence. As much as she believed and wanted to forgive Eloise, she couldn't. Not yet anyways. Because if she did give in, her sister would just hurt her again, stabbing Jo in the back until there was nothing left to stab.

"You need to rest El." Jo said to her sister, breaking from the embrace. "We'll talk later okay."

"No Jo, I need to talk to you now!" Eloise said, not letting go of her sister's hand.

"What's going on?" Mr. Taylor asked.

"I think we should leave them alone, whatever happened, Eloise and Jo need to talk it out alone." Kendall suggested, hoping to avoid a larger scandal.

Mrs. Taylor nodded and rushed the others out of the room. She took Jo aside to talk to her before leaving the sisters alone.

"Sweetheart, I need you to remember your sister is in a critical state, please don't make things worse."

Jo looked at her mom, shocked that her mother was warning her as if Jo's sole purpose was to make her sister worse. Jo didn't say anything though. She nodded and went back to Eloise's side like the responsible sister she was.

Once their mom was gone and the door shut tight Eloise began to apologize to Jo again before telling her what she needed.

"Jo please don't hate me. I didn't mean to hurt you." Eloise said with a sob.

Jo tried her best not to spite her sister and call her a liar, but all these apologies led by numerous betrayals had destroyed her resolve towards her sister.

"If you didn't mean to hurt me when you lead my boyfriend to your room to have sex with him, then why did you do it? What possible reasoning could you have for backstabbing your sister and sleeping with her boyfriend when you knew how much he meant to her? Tell me El, do you hate me or something?" Jo said, on the brink of tears.

"I could never hate you Joey! You're my sister and I love you! I didn't mean to hurt you! I never meant to get with Jett. Not now, not then, but that day all those years back; it was a really bad day for me." Eloise began. "Jake cheated on me that day, and I was broken. I ran home, looking for you to talk to you but you weren't there, Jett was. I was vulnerable and weak and I wanted to feel better and get back at Jake. And Jett was so sweet and told me all these nice things and made me feel better. Jett and I were drinking too because I thought it'd numb the pain and I offered him a drink too, so naturally our minds were getting fuzzy. He was just so nice Jo. He told me I was pretty and then I kissed him."

Jo cringed at the thought because she knew what was next.

"I kissed him and he kissed back. Afterwards, we both felt terrible and swore that we'd never mention it to anyone and we'd never see each other again. When you told me you both broke up because he cheated on you, I felt terrible. And I hated him for it, until I saw him in Paris when I went last month. We met at a party and he apologized and told me he wanted to tell you how sorry he was. I told him to get lost and he said he would, but he needed me to know how sorry he was and for me to tell you. Then I felt bad and accepted his apology, then we talked and drank and there I was, feeling like I did when we first hooked up."

Jo was pissed and feeling tears sting her eyes. She looked away from her sister, still in disbelief that she'd go behind her back the way she did.

"Jo it was an accident. I never wanted to hurt you. I didn't think it would ever need to come out this way. And now…" Eloise was crying again. But Jo wasn't biting. She was sick of this. She didn't know who or what to believe since her sister's story didn't fully match with Jett's. All she knew was she had to leave.

So that's what she did. She took a deep breath to keep her tears at bay, and then ran out of the room and back to her own, rushing past Jett who had his ear against the door to listen. When she got to her room she found Kendall sitting there, talking to Lucy on the phone. He didn't notice Jo come in since he wasn't facing the door. She stood quietly, hearing him talk for a bit when she realized who he was talking to. She didn't know why she kept letting it bother her so much, but it did. She couldn't take all this heartbreak and she found herself running again, out of the house, away from everyone she thought she loved and out where she could just be alone. She went back to the park, her only sanctuary in this town. The only place she ever felt safe and important because she was always there alone.


End file.
